Is Oprah getting a ratings boost as her daytime talk show heads into Wednesday’s finale? It is in the States where Monday’s arena love-in drew the second-largest viewing audience of the season (beaten only by the show where she revealed that she had a secret half sister). In Canada on CTV Oprah’s ratings were up slightly by the end of last week, inching close to 800,000 viewers. Good but not spectacular. The final three episodes should leap much higher this week.
A few TV critic colleagues have been asking if Oprah’s Monday/Tuesday Chicago stadium shows weren’t some sort of over-the-top ego trip but I think fans got the send off they expected. You wanted to see Oprah’s superstar pals fawning all over her and hear people screaming. I’m just glad Aretha Franklin finally got to the end of that song. Would have liked to see Letterman fly in for a hug but you can’t have everything.
For more on the ratings across Canada May 16 to 22 check out the weekly “Brioux Report” over at Toronto.com.
For more on Oprah’s exit, tune in to CHCH’s Evening News at Six for my Brampton bunker take on the talk show host’s impact and legacy.
